Sudha Hariharan

WEDDINGS ARE BIG BUSINESS

There’s nothing like a wedding to rake in the moolah, and we Indians should know, for over 11 million of us get hitched every year. The organized wedding business in this country is estimated to be between Rs 70,000 crores and growing at ,would you believe it, 25% per annum?. And it’s a party to which everyone’s invited. Cashing in on this craze to tie the knot are online communities, wedding service providers, magazines and event managers catering to every community, caste, religion, socio-economic class and bank balance.

The major players are designer queen Ritu Kumar followed by others like Sabyasachi ,Arjun Khanna, Manish Malhotra, in the clothes segment.The top players in the beauty segment include Shahnaz Hussain, Kaya Skin Clinic, Lakme Beauty Salon while Prabeer Kumar De and Cory Walia are among the top make-up experts.

In the jewellery segment , those who hog the limelight are TBZ, Intergold, Trendsmith , Tanishq and a host of new brand names who are specially designing bridal jewellery.

“Blame it all on tradition”says Jaahnavi P Paal, editor, www.ShaadiTimes.com, a wedding and relationship portal of Shaadi.com. Weddings in India have always been an extravagant affair, where spending is the barometer of one’s status. Marriage ranks right up there, along with politics and cricket, as one of the big money-spinners in our country. Even the poorest father will willingly sink into debt to give his daughter a marriage marked with style and pizzazz.”, she adds.

In these times when the prevailing motto seems to be “If you’ve got it, flaunt it”, extravagance has scaled greater heights than ever before. Designer outfits, theme weddings, ‘paid’ film stars as entertainers, pretty young things looking as if they’ve walked straight out of a Bollywood set and plastic ‘five star’ venues are the rage. The face of the urban Indian wedding is definitely changing.

For the bride, for whom this is the most important day (though not necessarily the best) of her life, it’s a chance to shine and be the cynosure of all eyes. ‘Enter the Wedding Dress Designer’, who enables her to make a fashion statement. Gone are the days of simple wedding outfits-- now we are raring and daring to be different! Apparently, one of the latest trends is to offer wedding outfits that can be used again. Not only is this a great idea from a budget point of view, but provides more wearability as well!

The ‘theme’ bug has crept in and weddings are becoming much more sophisticated, with brides selecting a theme that they maintain throughout all aspects of their wedding. The wedding dress must, of course, fit into this, so colours and accessories are vital.

Colour plays a big role and Indians are still hung on pastels and swarovski crystals, when it comes to wedding outfits. Some recent choices of blues, greens and flames have been bold and interesting. However, it would be safe to say that aquas and lilacs will continue to rule the roost. But the use of traditional colours like red, maroon, gold, and fabrics like brocades, silks for the actual wedding outfit have always been, are, and will always be the most sought after. Also, Indian brides, wherever they are in the world, come to India to shop for their wedding.

Your wedding is of course the time to show off. You wouldn’t want to look the same as the next bride and so, naturally, some brides go to extreme lengths to make sure that they stand out from the crowd. Hence, individually-designed wedding outfits are much-sought-after by those who can afford them.

And what is a wedding with out jewellery to match? Jewellery forms an integral part of the bride’s trousseau. With the growing awareness of fashion trends, brides today are becoming more fashion conscious and prefer functional jewellery to traditional designs, so that it is wearable and can be used on a daily basis.

So, what's the right jewellery to choose this bridal season?

Though elaborate jewellery cannot be ruled out completely , the general trend these days is to buy one heavy set and one or two light sets (in diamonds or gold) so that the jewellery is impeccable for more than one occasion. However, diamonds and real precious stones would be the perfect choice. Gold is a universal favourite, whereas platinum still remains an elite choice.

Other items of jewellery that are in vogue include long earrings, big rings and bracelets. Coloured gems and stones are also hot right now and white gold, it seems, is here to stay. Very few people understand platinum though; also the metal and labour charges are very expensive and so people would rather go in for white gold, which looks similar.

What’s more,jewellery and assorted finery has to be designer stuff. Gone are the days when the brides wore the typical red and white panetar or the red Benaras or even the virgin white and gold sari. Now it’s got to have the right stamp on it, after all you are trying to make a statement. Fashion designers are flying in from Hawaii to Honolulu not just to showcase their new lines but also to design for a client. It is not surprising to find most top-of-the-line designers shuttling between London, Dubai and New York during the ‘high season’. As couturier, Tarun Tahiliani rightly puts it, “The Indian wedding market, both at home and abroad, is recession-proof.”

It’s not enough to deck yourself up in jewels and the latest designer togs. To give it the right effect the setting has to be right. The wedding is also a celebration and has to be organized. It’s no longer something which your family elders put together. Marriage organizers and event managers are entrusted with organizing everything down to the last pin so that everything works smoothly. No more glitches on your Big Day!!

The wedding market looks all set to take off in a more organized fashion. With people willing to spend money, the sky is the limit. Destination weddings will also see a boom as more people opt for exotic locations to ensure uninterrupted participation of their guests. There’s no end to the things people dream up to make their wedding celebration a success, and more importantly, the envy of others. They’re getting married everywhere: in an aircraft, on board cruise-liners, on deserted islands, under water, in the desert…. you name it and somebody’s thought of it already. The marriage business is as competitive as the next and like a website is being constantly updated. The good times are rolling in for the industry, and it doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.